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CHAPTER 9
Muntz glared at the three wet dogs standing before him. “You lost them?” he growled. He slammed his cane against the floor.
“It was Dug,” Beta said quickly.
“Yeah, he’s with them,” Gamma agreed. “He helped them escape!”
Muntz groaned in frustration, then stopped suddenly. “Wait. Wait a minute. Dug…”
Muntz flipped a switch. It was a tracking switch, and it could trace Dug’s collar anywhere. Dug didn’t even notice when the tracking light on his collar lit up. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over the rocks below and sniffing.
“See anything?” asked Carl.
“No, my pack is not following us!” said Dug. “Boy, they are dumb.” He scampered back to Carl and Russell and began leading the way through the twisty rocks.
Russell and Carl followed, pulling the house. Kevin was on the front porch, resting.
Russell looked up at the bird. “You okay, Kevin?” She picked at her bandage, then settled back down.
“You know what, Mr. Fredricksen?” Russell said as they walked along. “The wilderness isn’t quite what I expected.”
“Yeah? How so?” Carl asked.
“It’s kinda … wild,” Russell said. “I mean, it’s not how they made it sound in my book.”
“Get used to that, kid,” Carl answered.
“My dad made it sound so easy. He’s really good at camping.” Russell thought for a moment. “He used to come to all my sweat lodge meetings. And afterwards we’d go get ice cream at Fenton’s. I always get chocolate, and he gets butter-brickle. Then we’d sit on this one curb, right outside, and I’ll count all the blue cars and he counts all the red ones, and whoever gets the most wins. I like that curb.”
Russell looked up at Carl. “That might sound boring,” he said, “but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.”
Carl thought about that. It was the same way with Ellie. What he missed most was just being with her. Looking at clouds. Cleaning the house. That’s not so weird, he thought.
The baby birds called out. Kevin looked up and returned the call.
“Look, there it is!” Russell shouted, pointing to the rocks. He tried to run, but his tether stopped him.
Carl pulled on it to get his attention. “Hold on, Russell. Stand still.”
Carl unclipped the hose, first from Russell and then from himself. Then he tied the house to a tree.
Russell helped Kevin off the porch. Then Kevin squawked and darted up the hill toward her babies. Carl, Russell, and Dug ran after her.
“Kevin! You’re feeling better!” exclaimed Russell.
Carl laughed. “Look at that bird go!”
“That’s it!” Russell hollered. “Go, Kevin. Go find your babies!”
Kevin was just at the entrance to the maze when a spotlight fell on her. It was Muntz! He had followed them in the Spirit of Adventure.
“Run, Kevin!” Russell screamed. “Run!”
Kevin ran, but a huge net shot out of the blimp. It forced her to the ground.
Kevin cried out.
Russell gasped. “Oh, no!”
Carl and Russell ran toward the bird. “Russell, give me your knife!” Carl cried. Russell handed it over, and Carl sawed at the net.
“Get away from my bird!” Muntz shouted.
Carl turned and gasped. He stopped sawing the net.
Muntz’s dogs were moving toward them, and they were dragging something behind them. It was Carl’s house.
Carl froze. Ellie’s clubhouse!
Muntz threw the lantern toward the house. The lantern broke, sending flames across the ground. The flames shot up. They licked at the bottom of the house.
“No!” cried Carl.
A balloon popped. Then another. Then more. The house sank toward the flames. The flames rose toward the house…
A moment later, the house was on fire!
The bird cried out.
Carl felt his heart breaking. Ellie’s clubhouse! The house they had lived in together for more than thirty years! The floor where they had danced …
He couldn’t watch it burn. He couldn’t.
“No!” The knife fell from Carl’s hand.
The dogs swarmed toward Kevin. The bird cried out, terrified. “No!” Russell screamed as the dogs dragged Kevin up the gangplank, into the blimp.
“Careful,” said Muntz as he turned and followed the dogs. “We’ll want her in good shape for my return.”
“Let her go!” Russell ran after the blimp as it took off. But it was no use. Russell watched as the blimp soared into the sky, taking Kevin with it.
Carl ran toward his burning house. He pulled it away from the fire and beat the flames with his jacket until they disappeared. He could feel Russell and Dug looking at him.
“You gave away Kevin,” Russell said accusingly. “You just gave her away.”
Carl sighed. How can I explain that I didn’t “just” give her away? he thought. They were burning Ellie’s house! “This is none of my concern!” he snapped. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“Master,” Dug said gently. “It’s all right.”
“I am not your master, and if you hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened!” Carl shouted. “Bad dog! Bad dog!”
Dug slunk away with his tail between his legs.
Carl put his harness back on. “Now, whether you assist me or not,” he announced to Russell, “I am going to Paradise Falls if it kills me.”
He started trudging.
Russell couldn’t think of anything to do but follow.
The balloons were limp. The house dragged as Carl struggled over the rocky ground. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Russell’s harness. It was empty. Russell was following, but he wasn’t assisting anymore. He was staring at the ground, his blood boiling with anger.
Finally, Carl reached the spot he wanted. He let the house settle almost to the ground, the balloons barely holding it aloft. Then he walked to the edge of the tepui. The sound of the falls pounded in his ears as they poured down the steep mountainside.
Carl took out Ellie’s childhood drawing. He’d placed her house exactly where she had drawn it.
I did it, Carl thought. Finally. This adventure nearly killed me, but I kept my vow.
He wondered why he didn’t feel happy.
Russell walked up to Carl. “Here,” he said. He tossed his Wilderness Explorer sash on the ground. “I don’t want this anymore.”
Carl picked up Russell’s sash. Then he watched as Russell walked away and sat down on a rock. Carl turned toward his house. It was barely floating now. He could step right onto the porch.
Carl went inside. The living room was a mess. Lamps had toppled, the table was broken, books were lying on the floor.
Carl began to tidy up. He picked up his chair and stood it in its proper place. He put Ellie’s chair next to it.
Finally, Carl sat down. He closed his eyes.
It was quiet. The only noise was the steady roar of the falls outside. It should have been relaxing… only it wasn’t.
Carl opened his eyes. Everything around him was the same… but he felt different.
Ellie’s adventure book was lying at his feet. He opened it and put Ellie’s drawing carefully in its place. He looked at the page for a long time. Then he flipped to the next page, and then through the pages of newspaper clippings about Muntz and the photos of South America—Ellie’s dreams.
He turned the page. STUFF I’M GOING TO DO, it read.
Carl drew in a deep breath. His fingers hovered at the edge of the page, afraid to turn it. He didn’t want to see the empty pages. All the adventures Ellie never had … all because Carl hadn’t kept his promise.
But he forced himself to look.
To his surprise, the pages weren’t blank. And they weren’t plastered with fantastic adventures she had dreamed up, either. Instead, they were full of pictures of their life together. There was a photo of their wedding. The two of them at Yosemite National Park. Playing at the beach. Photo after photo …
Carl felt his throat tighten.
The last photo was of them together. They were old. They were sitting side by side, in their chairs. They looked happy.
Ellie had written something below the photo.
Thanks for the adventure, it read. Now go have a new one. Love, Ellie.
Carl smiled. Ellie had seen their simple life as an adventure. She had gotten her wish after all.
He looked over at her chair, but it was empty.
Russell’s sash was lying across the arm. Carl picked it up. He gently touched the empty space and crossed his heart.
Carl hurried outside. “Russell?” he called. But Russell was nowhere in sight. Carl looked up just in time to see Russell rising into the air. He was holding a large bunch of balloons and a leaf blower as a steering device.
“I’m gonna help Kevin even if you won’t!” Russell called to Carl. He zoomed away, steering awkwardly with the leaf blower.
“No!” Carl shouted. “Russell! No!” He ran back to his house and struggled to lift it. But it was no use. The house wouldn’t budge. He couldn’t fly after Russell. Furious, Carl tossed a chair off the porch.
The house rose. Just a little, but it rose.
That gave Carl an idea.